Event

Dala at the me and thee coffeehouse - Sam Chase opens

"Dala seem bound for a loftier place where substance stands equal to style."- The Irish Times

Juno nominees and winners of the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala write and sing in harmony best described as angelic. These two best friends met in their high school music class in 2002; they have since released five albums and toured extensively across North America. Darlings of the Canadian music scene, Dala are now poised to bring their fresh brand of acoustic pop music to the world.

Drawing upon influences like The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Dala write songs that are both catchy and insightful. Amanda's ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Sheila's velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark.

"There's nothing pretentious about Dala's music; it's stripped down and laid bare. That's not to say it is without polish far from it. Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther have worked hard to exploit every facet of their extraordinary musical blend, and it would be just as at home in a 1960s coffeehouse as it is now on the contemporary concert stage".-Andrew Craig, Host of CBC "Canada Live"

The sheer joy with which they perform is infectious, turning first-time listeners into instant fans. Dala are equally entertaining between songs, telling funny and down to earth stories that make every show unique. Dala have opened for artists such as Tom Cochrane, Stuart McLean of the CBC's Vinyl Café, Richie Havens and Arlo Guthrie. No strangers to the festival scene, they have also performed at The New Orleans Jazz Festival, The Edmonton Folk Festival, California's Strawberry Festival and Mariposa. In 2009, they were the only Canadian act invited to play at the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival.

Dala's album "Everyone Is Someone" was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. It earned them their fifth Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, a Toronto Independent Music Award for Best Folk Group, and it was touted by The Irish Post as the Album of the Year. The song "Horses" was nominated by National Public Radio in the US as one of the "Top Ten folk songs of 2009.

"Dala can sing! What beautiful flights of melody and harmony, reminiscent of the Everly Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, Emmylou Harris and associates; though Dala can trade a melody line and leave one wondering who is taking the lead and simply leave one behind when the harmonies kick in."-Peterborough Examiner

In the summer of 2010, Dala's PBS special "Girls From The North Country" was broadcast across North America. This concert features Dala's own songs weaved around classics by Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot. The live cd and dvd for "Girls From The North Country" earned Dala the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for "Vocal Group of the Year".

The live album was nominated for a 2011 Juno Award in the category "Roots and Traditional Album of the Year: Group".

Dala's latest album "Best Day" was released in June of 2012. It was nominated for three Canadian Folk Music Awards: English Songwriter of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Producer of the Year"

http://www.dalagirls.com/

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Sam Chase:

Growing up with the beach as his backyard, in a home that was constantly filled with music, it's no wonder where Sam got his laid-back yet musically sophisticated, easy-to-listen-to vibe that is apparent in both his albums--'Songs for Someone' and 'Every Time I'm Home'.A multi-instrumentalist Sam plays guitar, drums, piano and sings on his most recent album, 'Every Time I'm Home'. His latest songs aren't aligned with any one genre, but they do have a common theme of the ocean, family and love flowing through themthings Sam says he tends to write about."These are the things that are closest to me. And because I write about those things, most of my songs send out a positive message. My casual personality is channeled through the music I write, which has a pretty chill vibe to it, but it's hard to put a label on it. You hear elements of rock, pop, folk, country and blues throughout all of my tunes. I suppose it speaks to the influences I've had over the years," he said.Sam has been playing music from an early age when he started as a drummer in his family's band, The Gathering, and also in his brother's band, The Matt Chase Group. After graduating from Berklee College of Music and discovering his knack for writing songs, Sam set his eyes towards the singer-songwriter path and didn't look back."There's something about the guitar and something intimate and real about someone belting their heart out over an acoustic guitar. If I hear someone playing one, I have to go check it out and I think once I started writing a few of my own songs, I just got the bug," he said.Sam's earliest influences include Dave Matthews,Tom Petty, Sting and James Taylor, the latter of who Sam has been consistently compared to.Yet Sam sings with a voice and plays with a rhythm that is entirely his own. Just a year after releasing his debut album, 'Songs for Someone', Sam was the winner of the 2010 Connecticut Folk Festival's Songwriting Contest and was a finalist in the 2009 Solarfest Songwriting Contest.'Every Time I'm Home' exudes Sam's inherent musical ability. With his natural vocal talent and his catchy, diversified rhythms, it's an album that pulls this gifted musician from his beachfront home in South Shore Massachusetts to the top of the list for today's up-and-coming songwriters.